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Method

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, pepper, salt and yeast. Stir in the olive oil and enough warm water to form a soft dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 mins until smooth and elastic.

Put the dough in a lightly oiled, large bowl. Cover with oiled cling film and leave in a warm place for about 1 hr or until doubled in size. Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. When the dough has risen, knead it again to incorporate the figs, by pushing the dough and lightly kneading them in. Don’t overwork the dough; it can look quite rough.

Shape the dough into a rough oval and put on a lightly floured baking sheet. Using scissors, slash the top of the loaf and sprinkle over a little flour. Leave it to rise again, uncovered, until slightly swelled, about 10-15 mins (if the kitchen is warm). Bake for 40-45 mins until it sounds hollow when you tap it underneath, then cool on a wire rack.

Comments

I have made this bread a few times now and have found it worked better (for me) with 500g mixed flours (say 400g wholemeal & 100g white oaty flour). I also add a few chopped walnuts, seeds and sometimes a handful of mixed dried fruits. The basic recipe is easy to play with and makes delicious bread everytime :)

I made this for the first time today, but made 3 mini round loaves. Also used 250g figs like the others. However, my loaves all felt very heavy in weight once they were cooked. Husband said they were stodgy! I then cooked them even longer on a slower heat, as the middle felt quite doughy. Any idea what I may have done wrong? The taste is great just wish it was lighter.

Made this last night & even with not letting it rise the full hour (it was late after all...) and resting it for only 5-10 min before finally putting it in the oven, it came out perfect after 40 min of baking.

The pepper gives it a nice edge, with the moisture of the figs balancing it nicely. (As others before, I only used a standard bag of 250 g of figs, which was plenty.)

Next time (there will definitely be a next time), I'll try it with whole-wheat flour or a mixture of rye & wheat flour, just to make it a bit more wholesome.

Very impressed with this bread. The idea sounded so odd I just had to try it, and I'm very glad I did! I didn't have quite enough dried figs, so supplemented with some dates and dried apricots, which went just as well with the black pepper, and worked excellently with cheeses of all sorts. I took this bread to a mixed gathering/picnic and it was a real hit. I found it easy to make although kneading in the dried fruit was a bit messy. My philosophy is - just enjoy the mess, clear up later, and you will have a wonderful loaf of EXTREMELY tasty bread to reward you.

Yummy....first time at making bread and it turned out perfect. Served it with a selection of cheeses (roquefort went particularly well..). Looking forward to trying it again, but will try walnut and honey next time and see if it turns out as well as this one...delicious!

Delicious. I had it with cheese and wine with a friend, who loved it and asked for the recipe. I didn't have strong white flour, so I just used plain flour and that worked just fine. I'll definitely be making it again.

This is the best bread I have ever tasted! I served it with goats cheese and plum chutney which worked really well, but everyone said it also tasted amazing just with butter. I also just used 250g of figs which was plenty. I will be making this regularly from now on.

My husband doesn't normally like "sweet stuff" with cheese...he devoured this and wants me to make it again. It is DeLiSH! A friend who was over for dinner said it was fab and that I had "raised the bar"...I just think I might make it again...;)

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